Relaxation of the Boussinesq system and applications to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the relaxation of the Boussinesq system to understand turbulence and mixing in Rayleigh-Taylor instability, revealing how initial energy influences long-term fluid configurations.

Contribution

It explicitly relaxes the Boussinesq equations, constructs subsolutions for Rayleigh-Taylor instability, and identifies criteria for long-term fluid mixing or separation.

Findings

Linear density profile is selected by maximal initial energy dissipation.

Quadratic growth of the mixing zone is observed in self-similar subsolutions.

Two long-term configurations: total mixing or complete separation.

Abstract

We consider the evolution of two incompressible fluids with homogeneous densities $\rho_-<\rho_+$ subject to gravity described by the inviscid Boussinesq equations and provide the explicit relaxation of the associated differential inclusion. The existence of a subsolution to the relaxation allows one to conclude the existence of turbulently mixing solutions to the original Boussinesq system. As a specific application we investigate subsolutions emanating from the classical Rayleigh-Taylor initial configuration where the two fluids are separated by a horizontal interface with the heavier fluid being on top of the lighter. It turns out that among all self-similar subsolutions the criterion of maximal initial energy dissipation selects a linear density profile and a quadratic growth of the mixing zone. The subsolution selected this way can be extended in an admissible way to exist for all times. We provide two possible extensions with different long-time limits. The first one corresponds to a total mixture of the two fluids, the second corresponds to a full separation with the lighter fluid on top of the heavier. There is no motion in either of the limit states.